“Printing Project” is a classic fraud scheme, so we will look at it in more detail.
If previously only Vlad’s unsuccessful projects were talked about and his habit of not bringing anything to completion, then in this case it is a deliberate fraud, which has already been confirmed in the relevant documents.
After Vlad and his family left for Bulgaria and simultaneously launched several projects in different areas, from shipping, sales and maintenance of yachts to design and construction, Vlad lost interest in these areas.
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But taking into account his European position, he decided to return to Ukraine and convince potential partners that he was firmly established in Bulgaria, acquired connections, gained experience in doing business in Europe, access to credit resources and is a very necessary person.
And he did it.
Fortunately, there are many acquaintances left in Kharkov.
He spent the entire 2017 in Ukraine and, turning to his established business acquaintances, found his potential victim.
Vlad’s classmate, Michael Shifrin, created and developed a printing business structure under the brand “Bytelectrotechnika”/LLC “BET”
As of 2017, LLC “BET” was a transnational company with a market share not only in Ukraine, but also in the USA and Israel, and other countries of the world.
Until year 2008, the company was dealing with the trade of printing materials, closelycooperating with the printing houses of Ukraine.
A full-cycle printing company was established in 2008, services from the layout to the production of finished products as well as own Publishing House.
For almost fifteen years, 75 publishing houses from Ukraine, USA, Israel, Great Britain,Kazakhstan, Bulgaria, and the CIS – countries have become customers of the services andproducts by LLC “BET”.
For almost fifteen years, 75 publishing houses from Ukraine, USA, Israel, Great Britain, Kazakhstan, Bulgaria, and the CIS – countries have become customers of the services and products by LLC “BET”.
In particular, these are publishing houses: “Geneza”, “Folio”, “Aston”, “Crystal Book”, “Print Art International” Ltd, “Israel Bookshop Publications”, “Elembook”, “Alligator Products Limited”, “Silver Print”, “Phoenix”, “Hamatik Printing Inc”, “MLC”, “BP printgroup” , “Sichos in English” (SIE), etc.
LLC “BET” annually takes part in different book exhibitions: “Frankfurt Book Fair”, “Bologna Children’s Book Fair”, “Lviv Publishers Forum”, “Kiev Book Arsenal”.
Vlad proposed to enter the European market and create production in Bulgaria, as in the country with the lowest tax rates in Europe and access to cheap financial instruments.
After a series of consultations and negotiations, the parties agreed to begin an investment project in Europe to create a printing production enterprise in Bulgaria.
Michael Shifrin allocated 50% of investments, technology, equipment at the first stage, and Vlad took on 50% of investments, organizational issues related to registering a company, finding premises for production, working with banks, recruiting personnel, negotiating with local authorities, as well as labor participation.
The project started at the beginning of 2018.
During 2018-2020 was registered the enterpise called Ltd. “EK” as well as premises were found, land for construction was purchased, equipment was imported and purchased, documents for obtaining a loan were agreed upon and the loan itself was received, production was launched.
Vlad became the director of the Bulgarian enterprise and assumed all executive functions and responsibility for the project.
You can see how the enterprise worked at: https://www.youtube.com/@ekprint3492
It should be noted that Vlad’s wife, Natalia, was involved in the financial side of the project, but we will talk about her in a separate article.
After the launch of production, everything immediately went wrong: problems with the bank, claims from clients, financial statements not matching real indicators, and much more.
At first, this was all attributed to the start of the project and entrepreneurial risks, but by the end of 2020 it became clear that Vlad not only could not manage the project, he was doing everything to close it, he, as always, had lost interest
All relations with banking structures, authorities, and employees in Bulgaria were Vlad’s responsibility, so the parties began to look for a way out of the current situation.
During 2021, were held negotiations about termination of Michael Shifrin’s participation in Vlad’s “BULGARIAN PROJECT”, which ended with the signing of a partnership agreement.
Please note that it was a partnership agreement, and not any other agreement, that was signed.
A little clarification. Partnership (gentleman’s) agreements are called agreements between participants in a business project, not for the purpose of further legal protection, but for the purpose of mutual understanding of the processes, recording of contributions, stages and timing of their implementation.
As a rule, partnership agreements are not made public, the parties strictly fulfill them in order to maintain their business reputation and trust in them as business partners.
It’s like a businessman’s code of honor, the violation of which leads to a loss of trust in him as a decent business partner.
It was noted that, as a rule, such agreements are not made public.
But if such gentlemen’s agreements are violated, reputational risks already fall on the guilty party.
In our case, as you might guess, it was Vlad who proved to be a dishonest business partner.
Here is the text of this partnership agreement:
According to the text of the agreement, it is not just about the termination of Michael Shifrin’s participation in the “BULGARIAN PROJECT”, but also about further cooperation in the creation of printing products and services.
Which suggests that there will be further business relations, and Vlad convinced his partner that such a business is possible.
But Vlad had no intention of following the agreements, he was simply playing for time. He made two payments of 10,000.00 Euros and that was the end of it. At the same time, payments stopped exactly with the beginning of the war in Ukraine. Production in Bulgaria was stopped, the equipment was taken out and sold by Vlad, and Vlad kept the money from the sale of the equipment for himself.
To this we need to add a number of aggravating circumstances:
● The size of Vlad’s fixed debt in the Conceptual Agreement in the amount of 360,174 Euros was extremely reduced, since Michael Shifrin invested more than 500,000 Euros in the project;
● Vlad, behind the back of his business partner Michael Shifrin, registered the company SPEEDFLOW BOOKS LLC (identifier: 804343976) in Texas (USA) in 2021 and planned to independently supply printed products to the USA and capture part of the Shifrin’s market;
● Generally stopped any communication with his business partner Michael Shifrin;
● He did this precisely at the moment when not only the war began in Ukraine, but after the “BET” production facilities in Kharkov came under fire from the Russian Federation and when Michael Shifrin needed help and support (described below);
● BET employees from shelled Kharkov were evacuated to Bulgaria, they relied on the promises of Vlad and his wife Natalia for help when they arrived in Plovdiv, they not only did not receive help, but were also ridiculed and cursed by the Ellis couple.
●
Here is a very beautiful sketch of the circumstances described:
Vlad enjoying life and relaxing at a ski resort in February 2022. At the same time, Vlad is not at all shy about posting this on his Facebook page.
Vlad is now allegedly helping the Ukrainians and is very sympathetic to them. But the situation with “BET” suggests the opposite.
The war for LLC “BET” began on February 24th, 2022 at 4.50 a.m.
At the border with the Russian Federation, the company’s car with finished products was destroyed.
After the start of the shelling of Kharkiv in February 2022, the company suspended its activities, but already in April 2022 start to work again.
On July 31st, 2022, at 4.14 a.m, the production building was fired by Russian C-300 missiles.
The production building was partially destroyed as well as some part of the production equipment, finished products and semi-finished products
Despite this, LLC “BET” continue to operate.
The equipment from the affected workshops was dismantled and placed at other production sites.
Vlad Ellis was well informed about these circumstances, as he was personally sent descriptions of these events with a request to begin paying off obligations, since it was necessary to pay wages to Kharkov employees and restore production.
But Vlad remained indifferent to the requests and generally stopped communicating and fulfilling his obligations at the most difficult moment for his business partner.
In fact, this betrayal is a “sin of Judas,” and betrayal at the most inopportune, most vulnerable moment for a business partner.
A person who is capable of such an act has neither honor nor conscience and cannot be called not only a decent businessman, but also a moral person.
This is the story of “Vlad the Betrayer” that no one knows about.
It should be noted that at the moment a criminal case has been opened in Ukraine on the fact of fraud with financial and other resources on the part of Vlad:
In Bulgaria, there is a police investigation into Michael Shifrin’s statement against Vladimir Ellis, including the matter of bringing the Bulgarian company to bankruptcy.
Also, legal proceedings have been initiated both in Bulgaria and in Ukraine against Vlad and he may lose his property in the near future.
This very clearly indicates that Vlad’s “PRINTING PROJECT” is a very big minus.